Recess: The New Generation Episode 1
by Ocytavia
Summary: The Recess gang have grown up, got married, had kids of their own. Concidentally, the kids all end up in the same year. So what happens when your kids are friends with your enemies kids? Currently on Standby
1. Part 1

Recess: The Next Generation

Episode #1- Unknown Connection

Part 1

Laura Jane walked to school like it was any other day, but it wasn't. Today was her birthday, but she didn't really care. To her, it was like any other school day. She had no friends, so she had no-one to celebrate with anyway. Her parents would take her out for dinner, but she wanted to have fun with kids her own age. 

Laura began to cross the road, almost tripping over her long, daggy green pants. She didn't have much pride in her appearance, so she just wore comfortable clothes. Today, her attire consisted of a faded grey T-shirt that was at least three sizes to lage, a blue jacket that looked as if it had been run over a few dozen times, daggy green pants, held up by a belt, and her favourite pair of joggers, that were literary falling apart. 

She arrived at the school seconds before the bell rang. She watched as the groups of kids headed for their classes, and sighed. She wished more than anything that she could be in a group. Not any of the ones she had seen outside though. She didn't want to be like swinger boy or upside-down guy, or the Month's, who were a group of the most popular girls in the school. Any girl who was named after a day of the month was in the group. There was June, April, July and August. She didn't want to be like any of them. She wanted to have her own group of friends, be her own person. But for now, she was just nobody.

"Get to class," Mrs. Finster yelled. Mrs. Finster had with the school for decades. He dad had told her that she was bossing kids around when he was in school. It was a scary thought, so Laura didn't like to dwell on it too long. She hurried inside and went to class. 

She entered the classroom just in time, and Mrs. Hertz smiled at her, and continued calling the role. 

Laura plonked herself at a desk at the back of the room. She always sat there, at the back, right hand corner, next to the forever empty desk. It wasn't like she wasn't allowed to sit anywhere else; it was just that she didn't want to sit anywhere else. She had no-one to sit next to anyway. She didn't even know the names of halt the people in her class. 

"Now, class, we have a new student joining us today." Mrs. Hertz beckoned to someone standing in the doorway, and a short, geeky looking boy with square glasses stepped into the classroom. "Class, this is Louis." She waited for a reaction. There wasn't one. "Well, Louis, you can sit at the back there, next to Laura." 

The boy sat down next to her, looking straight ahead, like he was in the army or something like that. _What a freak, _Laura thought. _I hope she doesn't dump him with me. _

"Laura, do you mind showing Louis around?" It was as though she had read her mind. She wanted to say no, but she could do that. She forced a smile.

"Sure. I'd be happy to," she said through gritted teeth.

"Good. Now, today we will…" At this point, Laura zoned out. She knew they were doing maths, and since she didn't understand any of it, she didn't see the point of trying. But she knew that there was one girl who loved maths and science. Her name was Gertrude. She was a nerd all over. Big, round, thick glasses, freckles, big, clumpy shoes, and untidy hair always in plaits. And she was a genius. 

Laura stared blankly at the wall beside her until the bell finally rang for recess. Everyone ran out of the room as quick as lighting. Laura hang back a bit, packing her things into the book bag she carried everywhere with her. She was very attached to the bag, and it was mended in many places, had words that had been written on it that had faded long ago, stains that never seemed to come out. The bag was originally red, but you couldn't have guessed from the state it was in today. 

When she finally stood up to leave, she was startled to see Louis, the geeky kid, waiting for her. And then she had remembered that she was looking after him for the day. She sighed. "Come on then. I'll show you around." 

As Laura walked casually across the schoolyard, Louis marched behind her, and it was getting quite annoying for her. But she tried to ignore it. She showed him the toilets, the drink fountains, the playground, or 'Old Rusty'. She could have told him that it was made while her dad was at school, but she wasn't all that enthusiastic about showing the guy around. 

"And this is the kickball field. Any questions?" She asked with a mocking tone. 

"No," he said very loudly. Laura put her hands over her ears. 

"Gees, could you be a bit quieter?" She said meanly. 

"Sorry," he said, in a normal-ish voice. "My father is in the principal at a military academy, and I use to go there. Until my mum thought I should go to a proper school," he added. 

"Hey, my father knows a military principal," Laura blurted out before she could stop herself. 

"Really? What's his name?" Louis asked, suddenly interested. 

"Gus," Laura said, trying to sound more casual. 

"That's my father's name! You must be TJ's daughter." 

"How do you know?" Laura demanded. 

"Well, a few weeks ago, I dug up a picture of my dad and his old school friends. Can I just say, you resemble your father a lot?" 

"Gee, thanks," she said sarcastically. "Who else was in the photo?"

"A girl with large glasses, a dark skinned boy wearing a basketball shirt, a very overweight boy, and a menacing looking tom-boy. So far I've only pick out you and the girl sitting up front. She would be Gretchen's daughter."

"Gertrude? Her mother and my father were friends? Get real," she said, chuckling. 

"It's true. I wonder if any of the others are here."

"Others? What'd you mean, 'Others'?" She demanded.

"The other kids my father use to hang out with, they would all have children around our age." 

"Are you mad? What are the chances of all our parents' friends having children the same age? Very unlikely."

"But not impossible." Laura snickered. 

"I bet you 5 that they don't," she said.

"Deal. I'll show you." And with that, Louis walked off, muttering. 

_What a weirdo. _Laura thought as she walked over to the old, rusty playground that they called 'Old Rusty'. She leaned her back against the cold, metal bars of the ladder and closed her eyes. No sooner had she done this that something hit her right in the face. She opened her eyes, dazed and shocked. 

"Hey, pip-squeak!" Someone called. "Throw us the ball!" She looked around her, seeing a red ball that was obviously the one that had hit her in the face. She picked it up and threw it back to the crowd of people who were playing some ball game. She didn't really care what they were playing, she wasn't interested. 

She turned back to Old Rusty, only to find that someone had taken her place. A tall boy, who must have been in the year above her, was leaning against the ladder, staring back at her. He wore jeans and a blue and white T-shirt, and he was very skinny. His brown hair was covered with a blue cap, and his face was sprinkled with freckles. Her surprise must have shown on her face, because his grin became wider. 

"Hey," he said.

"Hello," Laura said, unsure of why he was talking to her.

"Are you okay? That looked like it hurt a lot."

"Huh?" Laura asked, before remembering that she had just been hit in the head by a ball. "Oh, I'm fine." 

"That's good," he grinned. "I'm Pete Lawson, by the way." He held out his hand. 

"Laura Jane Detwiller," Laura said, taking his hand and shaking it. 

Suddenly, out of nowhere, two boys in suits and black sunglasses walked up to them. "King Sam wants to see you," he said to Pete. He then turned to Laura. "You better come too." 

She gave Pete a questioning look, but he didn't even glance at her. They climbed the long ladder to King Sam's throne. Laura always found it a bit strange that the playground needed a king, but this one was so out of it that it probably needed one to keep order. She just hoped they wouldn't rebel and over-throw their chosen leader. 

"Do you know why you have been brought here?" King Sam asked Pete. 

"Yes," he replied. King Sam gave his Black suited boys a demanding look. 

"You will call him King Sam or Your Majesty. Address him with his title and with respect," one of them said. 

"I will not call you 'King'" Pete said mockingly. "Just because you are two years older than me, it doesn't make you my king." 

"I am the king of this playground," King Sam said as he admired his subjects. "And while you are in my playground, you will play by my rules, little brother." Laura looked at Pete, and then at King Sam, immediately seeing the resemblance. 

"Tell me," King Sam continued. "Why are you here?" 

"I am here because I was mingling with the commoners, _King Sam._" He added the last words mockingly. 

"And, as a member of the royal family, you must stay within the borders."

"I don't see what the problem is! It's not like I was telling her anything! I don't even know anything!" 

"But you know how gossip works, little brother. And I'm sure you know how girls love to gossip." 

Laura finally put two and two together, and it clicked that they were talking about her. 

"What do you mean _commoner? _I'm not a commoner! How dare you. How dare you!" She was so furious she was yelling in his face. 

"Don't speak to King Sam without manners!" The black suited boy warned. 

"I will talk to him however I like!" Laura yelled. King Sam turned to look at her. His glare was deadly, but her blood was boiling and her stare was just as threatening. 

"Take her to the jail." The black suited boys went to grab her arms. 

"Don't touch me," she warned. She walked to the jail by herself, and the black suited boys were too scared to do anything but follow in the background, or 'escorting' her. 

As she sat in jail, many people passed her. One stopped, and she looked up, only to see Pete standing over her.

"What do you want?" She asked, annoyed.

"I wanted to say sorry," he said. Laura stood up. 

"You said it, now leave." She glared at him, warning him that she didn't want any more to do with him.

"Laura," He said, helplessly. 

"What? You wanted to say sorry, you said it. There's nothing you can say that will make me forgive you." 

"Laura, I just want you to understand! I didn't mean for you to get into trouble!" 

"Then why did you talk to me? I'm just a commoner!" 

"I don't want to be royalty! I don't want to be like my brother!" 

"You can't choose your relatives," Laura said quietly and she sat down again. Pete wanted to say more, but he didn't have anything left to say. So he left.

She sat there for the rest of recess, and then the bell went, after what seemed like forever. She got up and waited to be released, but nobody came to let her out. She watched as the kids rushed back into class, leaving the playground deserted. And she was left out there, with no way back in. She sat back down, out her head on her knees, and cried. Eventually, she fell asleep.

Half way through the class between recess and lunch, the fifth graders came out for PE. Most of them noticed the small fourth grader sleeping in the cage they used as a jail, and if they hadn't noticed, they were soon told, as the whispering was rapid growing. Only one student recognised her; Pete Lawson. He rushed over to her, despite the teacher calling after him. 

"Laura?" He said when he had reached the cage. Laura raised her head, shocked. It was obvious that she had been crying, her red eyes and puffy cheeks gave her away instantly. She looked small and helpless. "Laura, what are you doing in there?" 

"The bell rang, and everybody left. And I couldn't get out and…" She put her head on her knees again. Her body shook. 

"Just wait a second, and we'll get you out," Pete said before running back to his class. He went up to his teacher. "Mr. Lut?"

"Pete, you just can't run off like that-" Pete cut him off.

"Mr. Lut, there's a fourth grader over there, and she's been stuck in there since recess."

"Oh," Mr. Lut said, turning pale. "Oh my. Err, Philip, Brad, come and help. There's a fourth grade girl stuck in that cage, and we need to get her out. Lily," He said as the two boys ran off, accompanied by Pete. "Get the principal. Tell him that there is a fourth grade girl stuck on the playground. Hurry." 

And so Lily hurried off to get Principal Prickly, who was still the principal after all these years. When he heard what was happening, he rushed out into the playground. At this time, half the school, including the kindergarteners, were outside, wondering what all the fuss was about. They all learnt quickly; a girl got stuck in jail. They all thought she must have done something awfully bad to be kept in there for so long. 

Meanwhile, while everyone was gathering around, making a bad situation worse, the boys were making progress getting through the bars. It might have been easier to ask King Sam the combination to the lock, but his class was doing an exam, and the teachers were almost completely ignorant of what happened on the playground. 

They eventually got her out. When they first opened it, she didn't realize until Pete entered, knelt down, and tapped her gently on the shoulder. She looked up, stood up, and walked out. She clutched onto Pete's arm tightly, like she was afraid to let go. She was sent to go and sit in the waiting room of the principal's office, to wait for her parents to come. Pete waited with her, because she was still clutching onto his arm. When her parents finally came, she had to let go of him to go home. 

"Goodbye," she said to him, standing up. He stood up too.

"As much as I'd like to stay, I have to go back to class, and I need to take my arm with me."

"Sorry," she said, letting go. He smiled at her before leaving. 

Laura's parents were concerned, but only her father knew anything about what she had been through. Her mother had attended an all girls private school, so knew nothing of the torment of the king of the playground. Both parents were concerned about the boy she was with, though. 

They drove home in silence. Laura was looking out the window. Clouds were beginning to cover the sky, making the day seem gloomy. 

"Who was that boy?" TJ finally asked. 

"What boy?" Laura asked, not really listening to him, lost in her own little world. 

"The boy who you were holding onto," TJ explained. "Who was he?" 

"Oh, him." Laura looked at her father through the rear-view mirror. She turned back to the window. "He's Pete." 

"Pete who?" 

"Pete Lawson," Laura answered. At first, TJ thought he had heard wrong. 

"Pete who?" He repeated dumbly. 

"Pete Lawson, dad!" Laura was getting annoyed. 

"I don't want you having anything to do with the Lawson's. They're bad news," TJ said firmly. 

"Tell me about it. His brother is king of the playground." Laura's mother, Libby, laughed at her daughter. 

"King of the playground! Isn't that cute, Theo?" 

"Yeah, 'cute'," TJ replied, knowing it was far from cute. 

Pete spent less than ten minutes in class before the bell went for lunch. He had been waiting for lunch, so he could confront his brother. He walked up to the table that seated King Sam and his closest subjects. 

"You have a serious problem."

"What have I told you about the way you address me here?" King Sam asked him, though it wasn't a real question. 

"How could you just forget like that? You just left her there! You just forgot about her!" Pete was very angry. 

"Forget about whom?" King Sam asked casually. 

"Laura! For crying out loud, Sam, you put her in jail and forgot about her!" 

"You will address me as King Sam, and I will not ask you again."

"You better get off your high horse, Sam. They are looking for the person who left her in that cage, and you'll be expelled when they find you. They don't care if you're the king of the playground, Sam! They wouldn't care if you were the king of the country. What you did was wrong, Sam, and you know it. You can't except to keep a kingdom if you don't look after your people." 

And Pete left his brother, the king of the playground, lost for words. 

**Oooo, looks like sibling rivalery!**

**Please review and tell me what you think**

**OcyTaviAh**


	2. Part 2

Recess: The Next Generation

Episode #1- Unknown Connection

Part 2

Pete stayed away from King Sam's throne at lunch. In fact, he stayed away from the whole playground. He just sat on the steps, waiting for the bell to ring. Actually, he couldn't wait for the bell to ring for the end of school. But it seemed like he would be waiting for an eternity.

Somebody stood over him, creating a rather large shadow. He looked up to see a large boy with dark hair, a dorky looking boy with square glasses, and a skinny lean girl with big, round, thick glasses, with black hair in two messy pigtails.

"What do you want?" Pete asked.

"Do you know where Laura is?" The nerdy guy asked.

"What's it to you?"

"Well, we're looking for her."

"I don't know where she is. I'm not even suppose to be talking to you."

"What? Why?" So far only the nerdy boy had spoken.

"Look, I already got Laura into trouble, and I don't need you on my conscience too."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean stay away from me unless you want to get chucked into jail, like Laura was!"

So the group walked away. "I wonder what his problem was." Gertrude wondered out loud.

"Isn't it obvious," The big round boy with the dark hair said. "He's an outcast. An unwanted member of society."

"But why would we get into trouble for talking to him?" Louis asked.

"Maybe he has a detention," Gertrude suggested.

"Anyway, we still have two more people to find," Louis told them.

"Louis, I've already told you, the likeliness of our parents friends all having children the same age as us is very unlikely," Gertrude replied.

"But not impossible," The large boy countered.

"Look, Mitch, I know it's not impossible, but it might as well be. I mean, they might not even go to our school!"

Just as she said this, a dark skinned boy raced past them. He looked very fit, and they watched him a few moments as he continued to lap the playground. They looked at each other.

"I think we found another!" Louis said, excited.

"But- but…" Gertrude was looking for something to question.

"Hey, it may be unlikely, but not impossible," Louis said, starting off towards the boy.

But talking to him proved very difficult indeed. He would not slow down, and it was hard enough keeping up with him, but practically impossible to talk to him. But eventually he did stop, after Louis managed to ask him to stop and run at the same time. Louis collaped, exhausted.

"Hey," The boy said to the small group.

"Hi, I'm Mitch," Mitch said. "And this is Gertrude, and Louis."

"Well, that's all very interesting, but I've got to practice.

"Wait!" Louis said, still out of breath on the ground. The boy turned. "Is your fathers name Vince?"

"Yeah," The boy replied, slightly confused. "How do you know?"

"Our parents were friends with him," Louis told him. The boy laughed.

"You're kidding right? I mean, what are the chances?"

"I know it seems very unlikely, almost impossible, but it is plausible." Gertrude sounded very scientific as she said all this.

"What's your name?" Louis asked.

"Kyle."

"Well, we've found all but one," Louis announced, proud of himself.

"Which one?" Kyle asked.

"Spinelli."

* * *

The group wandered inside the school building, looking for the most organized kid in the school, Sean. He was where they expected him to be, in the personal records department. They didn't care to knock, so Sean got quiet a fright when they entered.

"What are you doing here? Your not suppose to be in here! You're not allowed! Get out!" He seemed very agitated about the situation.

"Relax, we just came to ask you a question," Mitch said calmly.

"Well, ask quickly. If you get found in here, I'll get into trouble too." He still seemed very nervous.

"We want to know if anyone is enrolled here under the name Spinelli," Gertrude told him clearly.

"The name rings a bell," Sean said, searching through some files. "But I don't think there are any students here under that name, but- Aha!" He pulled out an old file and placed it on the table in front of them.

"Ashley Spinelli," Gertrude read from the file.

"Yes, she attended at this school almost 20 years ago. According to her file, she was a rather mischievous girl, always causing fights. Very much a Tom-boy." Sean recited this all by memory, without even glancing at the file. Kyle picked up the small photo attached and examined it closely.

"Do you know if any of her children come here?" Gertrude asked.

"Well, I'm not sure. Of course, if she got married, she would have changed her name, and any children she might have had would go under that name too." Sean was searching through files again.

"This picture looks familiar," Kyle mused to himself. He had seen it before, he just couldn't remember where.

Sean pulled out another few files. "Here we go," he said. "June, year 5, Mother, Ashley Spinelli. Looks like she might not have changed her last name, but her children came under the name of their father."

"Children?" Mitch asked.

"According to our records, she has three children that attend our school. One is in year 7, and twins, both in year 5.

"And what are their names?" Kyle asked.

"June, Pete and Sam Lawson."

* * *

Eventually, the bell rang for the end of the day. The small group had given up their searching for June, knowing that she was part of the Months club. Everyone was leaving, with the exception of a few detention students and extra curriculum, such as clubs and sport. Gertrude stayed back for chess club, and Kyle had to go to basketball training. Louis and Mitch had their own reasons to get home quickly. Louis' father worked on a tight schedule, and expected his family to do the same, and Mitch couldn't wait to get his mother's homemade cookies.

But Pete didn't want to go home. Sam was staying after school with his "people", and June had gone over to a friend's house. Pete didn't have any friends, and that was partly Sam's fault. Ever since he was crowned King, he had been treating June like a Princess, and him like a piece of dirt.

But the real reason he didn't want to go home is because he knew his parents would be fighting. They always were. They fought over the smallest things, like what to watch on TV, or what to have for dinner. Pete hated it when they yelled. Of course, they always acted like nothing had happened, like they were a perfect family, but they would always find something to argue about the next day.

So Pete walked home slowly. He passed a lolly shop, and was tempted to go in a buy everything in the shop. He didn't buy everything, but he did buy two liquorice rolls and a gobstopper. He sucked on the gobstopper as he walked, making sure to take his time on both tasks.

Pete passed a house with a girl sitting on the front porch, looking at her shoes. Pete recognised her instantly; Laura. He walked up to her, but she didn't look up. It was only when he sat down next to her that she noticed him.

"Oh! You scared me. I didn't realize you were there," Laura said.

"That's okay," Pete tried to say, but with a gobstopper in his mouth, it came out like Datz Ocel. Laura laughed. He spat his gobstopper into a tissue. "Do you want some liquorice?"

"Yes, please." Laura loved liquorice. He handed her one roll and she chewed on it gleefully. "Thanks," she said, with a mouthful of liquorice. Pete smiled.

"So you like liquorice?" Pete asked her jokingly.

"I love liquorice!"

"Yeah? What else do you love, then?" He asked, interested in the answer.

"I loved dogs," She announced.

"What sort of dogs?"

"Big dogs, small dogs, I love 'em all!" She took another big bite of liquorice.

"Do you have any dogs?" He asked.

"No, unfortunately. Mum won't let me. She says they're a hassle to keep. I asked dad, but he won't admit to wanting one, even though I know he does. What about you? You got any pets."

"Yes, actually. I've got a Husky dog called Snowy."

"Snowy?" Laura seemed amused.

"Well, he was my sisters dog, and she called him Snowy. It kinda suits him, I guess. She doesn't play with him anymore, now that he's so big. Actually, I think she's kinda afraid of him." This idea made Laura laugh.

"I'd like to see your dog," she sighed.

"You can," he said, to her surprise. "I mean, if your parents would let you, that is. You could come over right now if you like." Laura was thrilled with the idea.

"Okay, I'll just ask my mum!" And she rushed inside the house. She came out a few moments later, looking very happy. "Let's go," she told him.

They walked the rest of the way to Pete's house relatively quickly. Pete's mother was the only one home, as Pete's dad worked late, or so he told Laura. Pete quickly introduced his mother to Laura. Laura thought she was very pretty, but her eyes were sad. But she didn't have to much time to dwell on this, because Pete pulled her into the backyard.

They had a huge backyard. They had a pool, a big pool, and a trampoline with protective netting. The garden that surrounded the fence line was scattered with holes dug by Snowy, the dog, who was yet to be seen.

"Snowy!" Pete called. Immediately, a big Husky dog came bounding from around the side of the house. Laura could see that his fur was originally completely white, but was now covered in dirt and dust from wherever he had come from.

"Wow, what a great dog!" Laura exclaimed, rubbing him over, which sent dust and dirt everywhere. "But he needs a good clean."

"He had a good clean yesterday. Yet, he still manages to get dirty again."

"One of life's greatest mystery's," Laura said, laughing.

They spent at least an hour playing with Snowy, before the dog ran out of energy. By then, Laura and Pete were out of energy too, and they collapsed on the soft grass, laughing. Pete looked at Laura.

"You want a drink?" He offered.

"It depends," she said.

"On what?"

"On what you've got to drink."

"Let's go have a look then, shall we?" Pete stood up, then put out his arm and pulled Laura onto her feet. They went back into the kitchen.

"Hey, mom, what's there to drink?"

"We've got water, cordial, lemonade, cola, juice. Take you pick," She didn't even look up as she listed off the possibilities.

"What do you want?" Pete asked Laura.

"Lemonade, please."

Pete got up and got them to glasses. He poured lemonade for Laura, and cordial for himself. He drank the whole glass without taking a breath. Laura tried to do the same, but the bubbles made her choke. Pete laughed at her.

"You want to go on the trampoline?" He asked.

"Okay."

"Be careful!" Pete's mom called after them.

The trampoline was huge, big enough for four people to jump on without even touching one another. Pete started showing off, showing her how to do tricks on the trampoline, such as bouncing onto you back and then back onto your feet, and doing flips. But most of them he had to demonstrate a few times, as he never quite got it right the first time.

And then they played 'don't crack the egg', where one person, the egg, has to hold their knees to their chest and keep them there, while the other person tried to get them to 'crack'. It was all very fun, until they got exhausted again. They both stopped bouncing and lied down on the trampoline. It was actually quite comfortable, for a trampoline.

Pete looked at Laura, who was panting and smiling. The sun was setting, and it spread an orange light across the yard. Pete suddenly notice how beautiful Laura was, how her brown hair shimmered in the light of the setting sun, how her eyes sparkled with happiness. He felt slugs in his stomach just watching her breath. (A/N: I call butterflies in the tummy slugs in the tummy, because they feel more like slugs than butterflies!)

Laura sat up and checked her watch. "I've got to go, Pete. Dinner will be ready for me back home in five minutes, and dad will be home by now."

"Okay," he said, standing up and unzipping the protective netting around the trampoline. "Did you want me to walk you home?"

"No," Laura said, knowing that her father didn't want her to hang out with Pete. "No, I can find my own way back. I'll be fine." They walked back into the house, and Pete showed her to the front door.

"See you tomorrow then," he said.

"Yeah, bye!" She called.

"Bye," He called after her as she ran off home.

* * *

So, Spinelli married Lawson?? Wow, didn't see that coming. Actually, I didn't. This story has a mind of it's own!

Please Review

OcyTaviAh


	3. Part 3

Recess: The Next Generation

Recess: The Next Generation

Episode #1- Unknown Connection

Part 3

Laura arrived late to school the next morning. She was too late to catch the bus, and she wanted to walk anyway. But walking took more time than driving, obviously, so she made slow progress.

But on that particular day, being late for school didn't bother Laura. She didn't really want to get there anyway. She had wanted to stay home from school, but her mother had told her she was just being silly. Except she wasn't. She was afraid.

She probably wouldn't admit this, but she was terrified. Being inside that cage was scary enough, but by now the whole school would know, and she would either be crowded around, asked a lot of questions, or be awkwardly avoided. Neither of these was a good turning out for the situation, but she had no power to prevent them.

She reached the school gates. The bell had rung a few seconds ago, and almost everyone was inside already. The deserted school suddenly made her feel dizzy, and she grabbed onto the railing of the fence to keep herself steady. She had a sudden flash back of the other day, when she was stuck in the cage, and nobody was there. The playground was deserted, similar to how it was now.

She just couldn't cope with all of this. She turned away from the school and ran. She wasn't looking where she was going, she didn't even know where she was going. But that didn't matter, because she didn't get very far. She had run only a few feet before colliding with someone, knocking them to the ground.

"Hey, watch where you're going," a voice said, jokingly. She looked down to see Pete on the ground.

"Sorry," She said, but she didn't make a move to help him up. She was still shaken by the experience by the fence. Pete stood up.

"Hey, are you okay?" He noticed her arms tightly crossed across her chest, her face was pale, and her eyes were distant.

"Fine," She said, but it was a weak effort. It was obvious that she was far from fine.

"You know, you can talk to me," he offered.

"I said I was fine," she replied coldly.

"You sure?" She nodded. "Okay then. We'd better get a move on, we're late."

"Uh," Laura mumbled, causing Pete to pause. "I- I don't think I'm going to school."

"Huh? You know, if this is about what happened yesterday… Well, my brother's a jerk." He wasn't sure what else to say.

"He's king of the playground, for crying out loud!" Laura was practically yelling by now.

"You don't know how pathetic that sounds," Pete said with a chuckle.

"Pete, it's not funny. You know, if you hadn't started talking to me, I would have never gotten thrown in jail. It was your fault!" and with that, Laura started running. This time she wasn't running away from the school, she was running away from Pete. She didn't want him to see her crying.

"Laura, wait." Pete was running after her. She ran faster. She didn't want to have to face him again. She didn't want to have to say sorry for blaming him. She needed to get away.

But she wasn't as fast as him, and he caught her easily. But by that time they were at a park, and although Pete had a vague idea where they were, he wasn't completely sure. But that wasn't concerning him now.

"Laura, I can tell this is bigger than you getting put in that cage. I know, it was horrific, but there must be something else."

"It's your fault," she repeated, not knowing what else to say.

"If you really believed that, would you have come over yesterday?"

"That was just to see your dog," she said, trying to be cold, but she could feel tears threatening to spill.

"If you blamed me, you would have gone off at me yesterday. Please, tell me." Laura was looking at the ground. "Laura…" she looked up. Her eyes were filling up with tears that would soon come pouring over her cheeks.

"My dad…" She paused, taking in a shaky breath. "He doesn't want me to talk to you at all. He doesn't like you.

"But why?" Pete was still confused. He didn't know her dad. He had only seen him once.

"He said- He said that it was you father fault. He yelled about someone called Spinelli. And then mum started yelling too. And, and…" by this time, Laura was in hysterics.

"Shhhhhh," Pete said, not really knowing what else to say. He softly rubbed her back in a circular motion. She leaned her head on his shoulder, still hiccuping, and he hoped that she couldn't hear how fast his heart was beating. "It's okay. It'll be okay."

He slowly walked her over to a bench, and sat her down. He sat down next to her. Although she was looking away, she still had a firm grasp on his hand. He looked at her concernedly, and tried to get her to look at him.

"Hey, tell me what happened. Slowly," he said, his eyes searching her downcast eyes. She took in a long, shaky breath before starting.

My dad, he said he use to go to the school we go to. He says things are still the same, when I told him about the king. Then I told him about you. When I told him your name, he got really angry. He told me not to talk to you anymore." She glanced at him before continuing. "When I ask him why, he said something about your father. He said your father had done something to Spinelli. Stolen Spinelli from him. Then mum got angry. She started yelling at dad about this Spinelli person. They were still arguing when I went to bed."

"It's okay," he told her, stroking her hair. "It's going to be okay. You'll see."

"No, it won't be okay. I can't be with you anymore. I can't talk to you or see you anymore. We can't be friends. Do you understand?"

"Laura, I-"

"No," She stood up, backing away. "No. We're not friends. We don't know each other. Okay?"

Pete looked at Laura, her eyes full of fear and sadness. He didn't want her to be afraid, or sad. But he didn't have the power to take it away, and he knew that no matter what he did, it would make it worse. So he nodded.

"Okay."

Laura turned and walked away. She didn't know where she was going, she just didn't want to stay where she was. She already regretted saying what she had said, but she couldn't change it now. It had to be this way.

Before she knew it, she was in an unfamiliar street. The sun was high in the sky, and Laura was very late for school. It would probably already be recess by now. Her feet felt heavy, and her bag felt as if it was packed full of stones. She was beginning to get very thirsty, so she stopped and sat down on the grass of someone's yard.

She fished her drink bottle out of her bag, grateful for the shade a shadow caused as someone loomed over her.

Pete walked through the school gates at recess. The yard was alive with kids, and he really didn't want to be there. But he didn't have a choice, so he walked slowly across the playground.

Presently, boys in black suits surrounded him. He wasn't at all frightened of them. They were the king's men and where often sent out to keep watch over him. During recess and lunch, he was restricted to the lower quarters of the King's layer.

Without much chitchat, the men lead him to the throne in which his brother occupied. He looked and acted superior, yet he was anything but. He turned up his nose at his brother, refusing to look at him. His sister stood next to him, looking amused.

"Kneel before your king," He demanded.

"I will when I see him," Pete told him, not really in the mood for Sam's ridiculous requests.

"Do not insult the king!" He felt a blow to the bock of his legs, which knocked him forward. Sam grinned. "That's better."

"What do you want?" Pete asked snappily.

"You know perfectly well what I want. You are to stay where you belong, in your layer."

"You mean the Jungle Jim," Pete said mockingly.

"You are to stay where I put you and go nowhere else, understand?!" Sam had risen from his seat and appeared to be very angry. "I do not want to see you around there with those commoners. You'll give me a bad image." Sam began to straighten his cape in a very materialistic way.

"Your 'image' is already bad, and nothing I could do would make it any worse." Pete had obviously hit a nerve.

"My people look up to me for guidance, and they respect me!" Sam said, trying to defend himself.

"Your 'people' don't trust you. Just the other day, you left a fourth grader in prison. Your people despise you."

Pete felt a stinging on his left cheek, and heard his sister let out a small squeal. His eyes watered with the pain, but he turned back towards his brother, staring at him menacingly. Sam glared back, with the same hatred reflected from his brother's eyes.

"Take him out of my sight," Sam said, turning to his throne. Pete was dragged away to the place he spent every recess and lunch, with no company.

He sat there, staring at the ground. He was angry at his brother, but he was really mainly angry at his father. While his brother had tipped him over the edge, it was his father that had caused him to loose the only friend he had. His father had done something so unforgivable; people couldn't even trust his son. It seemed like life only got worse for Pete.

Pete heard soft footsteps on the ladder, and then the soft padding of feet coming across to the corner he was sitting in. He didn't look up. He didn't care who it was. He didn't want any company, unless it was Laura's.

"Pete?" a soft voice asked. It was his sister's, his twin sister's voice. "Pete? Are you okay?"

"Fine," he answered, still not looking at her.

"Pete, I'm sorry. I didn't know he was going to hit you."

"So you ratted me out then?" Pete said angrily. "Can't say I'm surprised."

"Maybe if you were more polite..." She began with frustration.

"Maybe if Sam was a little less controlling. Maybe if he wasn't king. Maybe I'd still have a friend."

His sister looked at him curiously. "Have a friend? When did you ever have a friend?"

"I had heaps of friends last year," Pete replied, a little too quickly. "Before Sam became king."

"No, you're not talking about them. You're talking about someone else, an individual."

"You know, you're not as dumb as I thought you were." Pete almost grinned at his own joke.

"Shut up," June replied. "So, who is it?"

"Who's what?"

"Who's your friend?"

"Nobody."

"Nobody?" June groaned. "You practically tell me you have a new friend and then you leave me with nobody? Sorry, that just won't cut it."

"Have I ever told you how much I hate you?" Pete asked sarcastically.

"All the time. Now quit changing the subject and tell me."

"I told you, it's nobody."

Suddenly, June's expression changed. On her face was a look of realization, and she grinned at Pete. "It's a girl, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Your friend is a girl. Is it the girl that was stuck in prison yesterday? You talked about her with such passion." June took on a dreamy expression.

"What are you talking about?"

"My little brother has fallen in love," She said dreamily. Pete turned red.

"I am not in love. And I'm only younger by two minutes."

"What's her name?" June asked, completely ignoring the last comment. For a moment, Pete almost told his sister about Laura, but he held is tongue.

"I'm not in love," he said, but thinking about Laura made him go even redder, and he could feel his heart beating faster.

"Fine, just tell me your friend's name," June said, apparently dropping the subject.

"Laura," Pete said, almost in a whisper.

"So it is a girl." June seemed satisfied.

"It doesn't matter anyway. She won't talk to me anymore, and even if she would, Sam would put her in prison like last time."

"She was the girl that got stuck in prison. This is so romantic." June sighed.

"Oh, please. It's far from romantic."

"Of course it's romantic. Young man sweeps beautiful girl off her feet, but their love is forbidden, so they can only meet in secret. It's just like Romeo and Juliet."

"No, it's not. And anyway, have you ever read Romeo and Juliet? They both die in the end."

"Oh, really?" June looked distressed. "I didn't know that."

"It doesn't matter. She won't talk to me anyway."

"Why?"

"Her dad and our dad seem to be, well, enemies. And Laura said something about a Spinelli, but I don't know anyone by that name."

"You're such an idiot," June said, smiling. "Spinelli. It's mum's maiden name." Pete looked at her, puzzled. June explained. "Mum's last name before she got married. And isn't it obvious?"

"No."

"Obviously, both dad and Laura's dad loved mum, but mum chose dad, so now Laura's dad has, like, a huge grudge against our dad."

"That would explain why mum and dad fight all the time."

"They don't fight all the time."

"Well, you're not there most of the time. You're over at a friend's house every other day. They pretend to be a happy family, but they are always arguing. Mostly about little things, like burnt toast or leaving the cap off the toothpaste, but it always ends in dad telling her to go back to _him._ I guess we know _he_ is now." Pete looked back down at his shoes.

"But mum never left. That proves that she still loves him."

"No it doesn't. Maybe she's afraid to leave. Maybe she stays with him for us. You know how violent dad gets when his angry."

"But he would never hurt us, or mum."

Pete gave her a dark stare. "Like I said. You're not there for the half of it."

"Hey," said a gruff voice from above. "Whadda yer doin 'ere?"

Laura looked up to see a large man towering over her. "Sorry, I was just resting."

"Well, yer can 'just rest' somewhere else, cause this 'ere is privet property. Now scram."

Laura hurriedly got to her feet, stumbling away from the fat mans yard. She felt strange, like everything was fuzzy. She was hot, tired and thirsty, and it was affecting the ways she was thinking. She just wanted to lay down and go to sleep. She sat down, and her eyes grew heavy. The ground was hard under her backside, and her eyelids were getting heavy. Her world went dark just as a sharp blare of noise came to her ears.


End file.
